When I worked at a Summer Camp, oh... 30 + years ago, our camp director liked to give this illustration. “Suppose you are walking along a a trail the winds along half way up a very steep mountain. On one side of the trail is the mountain face and the other the sheer cliffs that …
Category: Christian Ethics
The Roles of Justice within Love and Mercy.
I like murder mysteries. Particularly, I tend towards the somewhat "old-fashioned" ones... at least old-fashioned British in attitude and convention. Agatha Christie, P.D. James, Dick Francis. I like have no interest in figuring out "whodunit." I like to ride the rollercoaster of the story and see where it takes me. I want to see the …
Continue reading The Roles of Justice within Love and Mercy.
St. Joseph at Christmas
We know Joseph gets downplayed at Christmas. I suppose it is understandable. But let's just take a moment to think about his role. David Zimmerman in "Comic Book Character" notes that mankind takes on four major roles in the Bible. In the Bible, God clearly takes on the role of hero, not people. However, people …
The Unethical Church, Part III
Justice Tempered by Mercy - Statue located in the Courtyard of the Law School (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Okay, up to this point I have felt quite comfortable with what I have written and felt that I have written it, if not well, at least saying what and how I want it said. Summarizing those points, …
The Unethical Church Part II
Problem #2. What is the correct foundation for Christian Ethics? Norman Geisler (again in the book, “Christian Ethics: Options and Issues”) states that Fiery furnace by Toros Roslin, Mashtots, 1266 (MS No. 2027, Fol. 14 V.) (Photo credit: Wikipedia) there are six basic systems of ethics. This is not Deontological versus Teleological, but rather that …
The Unethical Church. Part I
Having attended church since before I was born, I have long been aware of the difficulties that churches have with member discipline. That is, maintaining and enforcing ethical/moral standards. Matthew 18:15-17 has often been used as the sum total of discipline, yet the passage is completely inadequate. First, it provides, at best, a loose set …
The Happy Missionary?
I have heard so many sermons stating that happiness is not something the Christians should seek, but rather, they should seek “joy”. “Joy” is described as feeling good based on some sort of spiritual empowerment that transcends one’s momentary circumstances. “Happiness” is looked upon as feeling good because good things are happening. But maybe both definitions …